A group of 58 young boys, who were trafficked to Kerala last month, returned to their hometown here today after being rescued, police said.
The minors were taken from the villages of Chanchol sub-division of Malda district on May 23 on the pretext of giving them education in religious schools in Kerala, police officials said.
The state's Children and Women's Welfare Minister, Shashi Panja, said the parents of the children were misled by the traffickers in the name of education.
"We have sent our district child protection officer to the children. We are keeping a close eye on trafficking and prompt action is being taken," she said.
When the police in Kerala's Palakkad station saw these boys loitering on the platform on May 25 they caught two men on suspicion who had brought them there from Malda.
The boys in the age group of 12-16 were likely to be trafficked to the Gulf countries for using them as camel jockeys, the police said.
They were escorted by police officers from Kerala and safely reached their villages after being produced in a juvenile court.
